 Toschi is known for his style of dress, including bow-ties, 'loud' plaid suits, bounteous curls, and an exaggerated trench-coat.In 1976, his quest for attention led him to send anonymous letters admiring his own efforts to Armistead Maupin, then a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle; revelation of that led to him being removed from the case in 1978.Toschi was also accused but later exonerated of writing one of the Zodiac letters, which the USPS crime lab verified as authentic but was later impeached by other experts; the suspicion ended Toschi's chance of replacing SFPD chief Charles Gain.